Defining Together Together
by Sir Jid
Summary: A series of Ren and/or Nora one-shots. Chapter 6: Nora requests a change for breakfast.
1. Training Begins

"No!" Nora stomped her foot, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, as she stared down her father. He sighed.

"Nora, it's a perfectly reasonable exercise. Every team has to do it at some point-"

"I'm not going to fight Ren!"

The boy in question stood awkwardly behind Nora, hands fidgeting at his side as he observed the argument, unsure exactly how to intercede.

"It teaches you what your partner's weaknesses are, so you can-"

"I already know all about Ren! He doesn't have any weaknesses."

Ren blushed. "Nora, I'm sure I have-"

"Of course he has weaknesses," Nora's father replied, ignoring Ren. "Everyone does. But you need to know you're partner's weaknesses so you can cover them, and help them improve."

"Besides," Nora continued as though neither had spoken, "Why would I want to fight Ren? I don't want to hurt him."

Ren placed his hand on her shoulder. "Nora, we won't actually be hurting each other. It's just practice-"

"No!" she shouted again, whirling around to face him. "We're never gonna fight, so why should we practice against each other? It'd make a lot more sense for us to fight together. Unless.." her eyes widened and she looked up at Ren, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You're not gonna leave me, are you?"

"What?" Ren stepped back, blinking in surprise. "No, of course not."

As quickly as she had begun crying, she stopped. "Exactly!" She whipped back to face her father, arms crossed. "We're always gonna be together, so we're not gonna fight each other." She punctuated her declaration by sticking out her tongue out the man. Ren looked up at him helplessly.

"Well, if that's the case," the large man began slowly, stroking his chin. "Perhaps the two of you would like to practice against me?" he offered, drawing his sword.

Nora pumped both her fists, grinning madly. "Awesome!" Ren just sighed.

Ren rolled under the Beowolf's outstretched claws, stopping at a kneel behind it, and raked the left hand of Stormflower across the back of its legs, sending it howling to the floor, while the right hand fired up into the face of a second Beowolf, causing it to back away, its hands flung up in defence. Nora leapt forward with a cry of delight and slammed Magnhild down on the head of the first Beowolf, crushing it into the ground, before firing the weapon directly on it for good measure and repating the move on the second Wolf. Ren smiled slightly as he straightened up, dusting himself off, before approaching Nora. She grinned back at him over her shoulder.

"That was awesome! They were all, 'roar'! and then you went 'woosh', and then I went 'smash'!"

"That is an accurate description."

Nora linked her arm around his and started dragging him back toward the school, retelling their fight again. He had no doubt that, by the time the story reached the ears of their friends, there would be at least a dozen Beowolves, and likely a few Ursas or a Deathstalker. He shook his head, still smiling, and continued to allow Nora to pull him onward, just as he always had.

A/N: heeeyyyyyy… so I know I haven't updated Three Wars in… a month, but I started school and work at the same time, and then I was out of town, and I was having problems adjusting to new medication, and then… let's just say my schedule and personal life have been working against me writing anything. Anyway, this is going to be a collection of Ren and/or Nora oneshots, all set in RWBY canon. It's all going to be short stuff like this; just things I upload as I get a new idea that doesn't require any planning or time devoted to it.


	2. Saturday Morning

Ren truly enjoys Saturday mornings.

On Saturdays, he can wake up early to climb up to the roof and watch the sun rise. He can sit, legs folded, and hands placed neatly in his lap, watching the brilliant colors play through the wispy clouds as a light breeze flutters through his hair. Sometimes he will let his mind wander, pondering whatever crosses his mind, and sometimes he simply leans back with his small smile and enjoys the beauty of nature. Then, when the last vestiges of pink and orange have gone from the horizon, and the sky is in the full blue of day, it is time to go back downstairs and make breakfast.

Making the pancakes is a cross between ritual, science, and art. Ren has done this enough times that he no longer needs to measure each ingredient, instead pouring until he can feel the correct amount in the bowl. When the batter is first poured into the hot skillet, he takes a moment to close his eyes and take in the aroma of the thickening batter combined with whatever he has put in the pancakes today; berries, perhaps, or, on days he feels like spoiling Nora, chocolate chips.

As he cooks, the other members of JNPR and RWBY file in. Blake is always the first to arrive. She nods in greeting and begins to make her tea. When she is finished, she offers him a cup, which he accepts with a smile, and silently shares in his company, sometimes reading, sometimes not. Ren likes this about Blake; she is the only member of RWBY or JNPR with whom he can enjoy a companionable silence.

Before long, however, the silence is broken as Pyrrha arrives, fresh from her early morning workout, and engages in polite conversation with Blake and Ren. On any other day of the week, Yang would be up and practicing with her, but she has reserved Saturdays for 'beauty sleep'.

Next comes Weiss, who, after a perfunctory greeting, sits gracefully at end of the table with the toast already prepared for her and eats quietly, only occasionally answering when Pyrrha attempts to include her.

The calm, early-morning atmosphere is shattered when Ruby, Nora and Yang burst in, Nora bounding immediately to Ren for her morning hug, and Yang immediately striking up a conversation with Blake if she can, or Pyrrha if her partner refuses to look up from her book. Ruby, meanwhile, always happily fails to get her partner to engage with the rest of the group.

Jaune shuffles in last, still not quite awake, and Ren smiles to himself as his leader unconsciously sits next to Pyrrha, who gives him a look of exasperated endearment and offers him a cup of coffee.

Ren has usually finished his pancakes by the time Jaune arrives, and so can immediately begin serving when his leader sits at the table. Each of his friends has their own amount: four for Nora, three each to Ruby and Yang, two for Jaune, and one for himself, Blake and Pyrrha, while Weiss is contented with just her toast. Conversation slows when the food arrives at the table, though some still attempt to speak even while their mouth is crammed full with an entire pancake.

This is how Saturday always goes, with minor adjustments. Blake was missing once just before RWBY had their fight on the docks, and before that, Jaune was gone for a few weeks, his two pancakes sitting sadly on their plate on the counter, at least until Nora had noticed them. This is one of the few times of the week when everyone will be together, all at once. Other days, people will be practicing, or studying (or being forced to study), and not all eat meals at the same times, but here, before the weekend has truly begun, and after all of the week's obligations are finished, everyone can sit, and talk, and enjoy a good meal together, and Ren is happy to be the cause of that.


	3. How We Met

"Ren," Pyrrha asked, looking curiously at her teammate, "How did you and Nora meet?"

Ren dabbed at his mouth with a napkin before responding. "It's actually not a very exciting story. Our parents went to school together, so we grew up together."

"Awww, come on, Ren. That's just the boring bits!"

"Then what are the… not-boring bits?" Pyrrha asked cautiously. Nora grinned. Ren closed his eyes and exhaled lightly.

"There are so many! You know, because we've been together for soo long! Well, not together-together, just together, because we're always in the same place and doing stuff at the same time, so, you know, together, because we're not together like that even though we could easily have been, with how long we've been together, and-"

"Nora."

"Anyway, the first time we met was years ago, back when we were little. Our dads knew each other, and all of us were together, but then we got separated from them and had to survive alone in the wilds!"

"They left us at the same daycare."

"I knew right away that Ren was an awesome fighter, and I obviously am, so we didn't have any trouble! We fought through all sorts of Grimm while waiting for our dads to get back. There was a pack of Beowolves, and a herd of Ursa and a Deathstalker! But we killed all of them without even getting touched."

"We pretended we were Hunters."

"Our dads came and found us eventually, and they were really proud that we had survived that long."

"Nora hadn't destroyed the building."

"After that, we went everywhere together! We fought off a Grimm invasion at our school-"

"Nora did destroy the building that time."

"And when we first came to Vale, I got to chase a thief all across town-"

"After you helped him escape the police."

"And once we were out camping, and this huuuuuge Ursa came out of the forest right behind my dad, and I threw Ren and he kicked it in the head and killed it right there!"

Everyone turned to Ren, who shrugged lightly.

"That one's true, actually."


	4. A New Style

"Hey… Ren?"

Ren looked up from his lunch to see Ruby fidgeting next to him. He smiled in acknowledgement.

"So... you're really good at fighting, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, without weapons, and stuff."

"You mean martial arts?"

"Yeah. All that punching and kicking that you do."

"What about it?"

"Can you teach me?"

"Of course."

Ruby beamed. "Great! Can we go now?"

Ren raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Alright."

"Alright! I'll meet you at the gym." A moment later, Ruby was gone, leaving only a trail of petals floating slowly to the ground.

By the time Ren entered the gym, Ruby was already there, talking to Nora and Yang, both of whom were already sweating profusely. As he approached, Nora bounded over to him.

"Yang and I are wrestling!"

Yang, meanwhile, queried, "Hey, you really going to teach her hand-to-hand?"

Ren nodded as he returned Nora's enthusiastic hug with one arm. "Hello, Nora."

"Well, good luck. Dad and I tried for years, and she never even got the stance right."

"Yaaaang!"

"Hey, it's true. It's just not your thing, Rubes."

Ruby pouted. "Well, that's because you're a bad teacher."

Yang grinned. "Nah, you're just a shrimp."

Ruby continued to pout, her arms folded.

"Anyway, have fun. And don't hurt yourself, Ruby." Yang ruffled Ruby's hair and turned back to the ring.

"Bye, Ren!" Nora sang cheerfully before following Yang.

After they left, Ruby looked up at Ren. "Okay, so I might not have done very well before, but I promise I'm going to do my best, okay?"

Ruby collapsed on the floor, closing her eyes and moaning in annoyance. "I can't do it!"

"Told you so!" Yang called over from the wrestling ring.

Ren extended a hand to Ruby and pulled her up. "We've only been here two hours."

"Yeah, and I'm not doing any better," she whined, letting him pull her up.

"You'll get there," Ren assured.

Ruby pouted. "It's not fair! Your arms are all long and mine are all stubby."

"Ruby, you're not me, nor are you Yang. None of our styles will work exactly for you, but we can try to adapt them for you. Your speed is a unique asset; given enough practice, you should be able to defeat me."

"You really think so?" Ruby asked, her eyes shining up at him.

He nodded.

"Okay! Let's try this again." Ruby leapt to her feet and dropped into her ready position. "So… what do I do?"

Before Ren could respond, the gym door burst open, revealing an angry heiress.

"Ruby! There you are," Weiss shouted, stomping into the room. "Have you been here the whole time? You were supposed to be in the library two hours ago!"

"Oh… was that today?"

Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, it was today. I told you about it a week ago."

"Well, that's why I forgot. Because it was so long ago. If you had told me yesterday, I would've remembered."

"You are so irresponsible. Just get dressed and come over right now, okay?"

"Yeah… I'll be right over."

"Good." Weiss whirled around and stalked out of the gym.

There was a moment of silence before Ruby turned to smile at Ren.

"Hey, thanks, Ren. I don't think I learned anything, but it was fun."

Ren smiled. "Any time, Ruby."

Ruby grinned and skipped out of the room after her partner.


	5. The Brother I Never Had

**A/N:** so I haven't updated this in months, and in that time, it somehow got more followers than people I know in real life. So… thanks for following a story that hadn't been updated in a while. As thanks, here's some potential… Martial Arcs? Is that seriously the name? Anyway, some Ren/Jaune that nobody asked for.

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 _Under the command of Russet Rouge, the technologically inferior Vacuan forces engaged in guerrilla warfare against the entrenched Atlesians, led by General Hadrian Steel. Despite the Atlesians winning early victories against Vacuo, including sieging and capturing the capital, the Vacuans crippled the Atlesians with strikes against their supply lines, often spreading their forces over a wide area and making retaliation all but impossible. One by one, the Atlesian forces were defeated by their lack of provisions until General Steel himself surrendered at Bayview. The Bayview treaty in 1646 marked the end of the war, and secured Vacuan control over the mainland, as well as much of Kistan, the large island between the two nations. However, due to Vacuo's near-depleted state after the war, the island was abandoned to the Grimm that ran rampant there, while Vacuo attempted to stabilize what remained of the empire._

Jaune blinked his bleary eyes as he once again scanned the page for elusive answers. The War of Kistan was not particularly interesting. It didn't even involve Vale—why did he have to know about this? Sighing, Jaune pulled the book back up and set his focus back at the top of the page.

Suddenly, a slender finger appeared, indicating the third paragraph down. A quick glance confirmed that it held the answer he had been seeking, and another glance upward revealed Ren attached to the finger, smiling softly at his leader.

"Thanks, Ren."

Ren noded, but did not leave, instead pulling up a chair and seating himself neatly next to Jaune.

"Would you like some help?"

"That would be great," Jaune admitted tiredly, slumping forward slightly. "I've been at this for hours. And Professor Oobleck's gonna be really, really upset if I don't turn this in. Again."

"Doctor," Ren chided softly, his slight smile still in place. "And he's only hard on you because he knows you can do this."

"Yeah, well, that makes one of us."

"Two. You can do it, Jaune."

Unconvinced, Jaune sighed. "All right. Let's get this over with."

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Ren stumbled back, the blow from Jaune's shield enough to completely wind him and nearly knock him to his knees.

"You need to brace yourself, Ren!" his leader called out, lowering is sword and shield. "You're really good at dodging, but you're gonna get hit sometimes. You gotta be able to take it."

"I'd rather just avoid it."

"Well, that's not always gonna happen. Now come on. Let's try this again."

Ren stood, lowering his arms into his ready position. Jaune lashed out again, with his sword this time, and delivered a strong blow that Ren blocked with Stormflower head on, leaving his hands jarred and numb. A quick bash from Jaune's shield knocked one gun from his right hand, and the left was knocked away by Jaune's sword.

The team leader sighed. "You can't just hold out your weapon to stop an attack. Not even with a shield," Jaune instructed as he leaned over to pick up one of Ren's weapons and handed it to him. "You've got to parry it. Hold the blade at an angle, and when the strike comes in, roll with it, not against it. Use their momentum against you—you're good at that. It's the same as when you feint, only you're actually making contact. Here," Jaune once again readied himself. "Hit me with something slow and easy. I'll show you."

Ren obliged, lunging forward with his left hand, directly at Jaune's shoulder. Jaune intercepted the strike with his sword twisting his wrist and deflecting Ren's blade away from him.

"See? Like that. Only, you'd do it with more of an angle and less of a twist, because of how your weapon works. Let's try again."

Jaune swung at Ren. Ren raised his left hand and caught Jaune's blade with his own, though this time bouncing it off and to the side. Ren noticed that his hand was considerably less numb.

"Great!" Jaune grinned. "Okay, that was an easy one. But let's keep at it. You'll get it down in no time."

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	6. Blueberry Pancakes

"Hey, Ren?" Nora waltzed into JNPR's room, carelessly tossing Magnhild into the corner.

Ren glanced up from his book. "Yes, Nora?"

"Why do you always make plain pancakes?"

He lowered the book and gazed thoughtfully at his partner.

"I do not know. I have never considered the possibility, I suppose."

"Well, you should try adding blueberries or something. Or chocolate chips!"

"Aren't they sweet enough?"

"Oh, Ren!" Nora giggled and flopped on the bed, looking up at her partner. "Everything you make is automatically sweeter!"

"I suppose it's a good thing I don't make savory dishes, then."

"Ah, I bet you'd do great."

"There seems to be little reason. The school provides meals."

"They provide breakfast, but you still make pancakes."

"The cafeteria rarely makes pancakes. I fear you would break something." Ren cast a sideways glance at Nora. "Or, more things than usual."

Nora giggled, rolling up and jumping off the bed. "I do like breaking things."

"It's one of your talents."

Nora placed her hands on her cheeks, giving a theatrical gasp. "You mean I have more?"

Ren looked at her for a moment, before returning to his book. "No, I suppose not."

"Aww, you're mean."

"I thought you appreciated straightforwardness."

"Well, yeah, but there's nice straightforward and mean straightforward."

"You advocate breaking people's legs."

"I never said I was nice. Jaune is nice straightforward."

"He is that," Ren conceded.

Nora sighed and flopped back onto the bed, resting her head against Ren's side. He shifted slightly to accommodate her.

"So… blueberry pancakes?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"With syrup?"

"Is there another way?"

"About twelve of them?"

"Twelve for the whole team, yes."

"But that'll leave, like, one for you guys to split."

"You cannot survive on pancakes alone."

"That's why you're adding blueberries!"

Ren hummed in response and the pair drifted into silence. A few minutes after Ren was convinced Nora had fallen asleep, she spoke.

"Ren?"

"Yes?"

"You don't really think smashing things is all I'm good for, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Good."

Nora was silent for a moment.

"What else is there, then?"

"It's unlike you to fish for compliments."

Nora pouted at him.

"Very well. You are a strong person. Your morals never waver and you uphold your convictions and remain loyal to your friends in any circumstance. You genuinely wish to help people and know how best to apply yourself in order to do so. You are a kind person behind your selfish and simple façade. In short, you are a wonderful person I am honored to have known for as long as I have."

Ren smiled and reached a finger over to lightly tap Nora's nose.

"Does that convince you?"

Nora beamed at him. "It's a start."


End file.
